Empire State College is creating 16 online courses in mathematics and science designed to engage students in problem-based learning relevant to their lives and work. The first set of courses are being offered now, and more are under development.
These courses are designed for adult learners who are not math and science majors. We think that you will find these courses to be interesting, and we've provided access to some of the content here so you can see for yourself.
You can learn about signing up for one of these courses, or any of the hundreds of others offered by Empire State College, at www.esc.edu
The currently offered courses include:
 Contemporary Environmental Issues
This interdisciplinary course examines a broad range of contemporary global environmental issues, such as biodiversity, pollution, population growth, and global warming, and focuses on how those big issues might affect us locally. It develops students' environmental literacy and enables them to take part in informed debate and action. It explores environmental materials in a variety of media and teaches students how to navigate these materials; how to analyze and evaluate information; how to balance information from a variety of scientific and non-scientific, objective and subjective sources; and how to develop arguments surrounding environmental problems. This course features a number of well-tested field activities that give students first hand experience with ecological research.
 Visualizing Mathematics
This course is intended to help visual learners, or anyone who has struggled with math in the past, to become reacquainted with mathematics.
In this course you'll explore mathematical concepts using video and hands-on math tools, and you'll learn about data visualization using graphs and charts.
 Math For Inquiring Minds
In this course you'll learn how to apply a well-defined problem-solving process to real world situations. Charts, graphs and basic statistical tools are used to quantitatively examine and analyze data to promote more effective decision making.
 Evolution: One Long Argument
Evolution is the great unifying theory of biology. No idea has been more powerful, and few ideas in all of science have been as controversial. This course traces the history of evolutionary ideas using the development of Darwin's theory and The Origin of Species as the scaffolding for our current understanding. We will examine the vast amount of evidence that has accumulated in support of evolution and we will see how evolution continues to fuel research in areas ranging from paleontology to molecular biology to human behavior to medicine.
 Discovering Math Across Generations
Have you ever wished you could be more helpful when your child has a problem with his or her math homework? This course teaches students how to teach math to kids from elementary school through high school. And learning to teach a subject is a great way to develop a deeper understanding of the topic yourself.
 Marine Biology
This course will deepen and build on your understanding of biological and ecological concepts. This course helps develop the skills that will enable you to read and critique ongoing scientific projects and scientific literature. The course features a virtual field trip to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk (CT).
 Mathematical Modeling
The focus of this course is on patterns of growth. When will an outbreak of a disease become an epidemic? Which investment strategy yields the best return? When does the population of a species such as the spotted owl decline to a point that it is doomed to extinction? When is a problem too big to be solved by a computer? In this course you'll learn how mathematical models are related to the real world and about the tools and techniques that underlie mathematical modeling.
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